We had an email from a Chemistry World reader called Joey this morning, wondering about the logo on the ‘Technicals’ range of clothing at UK outdoors equipment shop Blacks.

The logo resembles a chemical structure, but it’s not entirely clear what the significance (if any) of such a molecule might be. Anyone out there have any ideas – the structure is a miss on Chemspider, but it might be worth running it through SciFinder or some other such database.

Joey, in his quest for an explanation, has apparently asked various university lecturers, school chemistry teachers, technicians and even Blacks head office but no-one is able to agree on what the structure is. He suggests it may be stylised, with some functional groups omitted for ‘design purposes’ but we’d love to know what you all think.

Happy hunting!

Phillip Broadwith

Update 4 June 2010.

Well, the general concensus so far seems to be that it is some kind of stylised neurochemical – @Stuartcantrill and @gingerbreadlady on twitter suggested it might be a layman’s adrenaline, which would fit more sensibly with the company making sports-related clothing, but the structure doesn’t really fit.

Rich Apodaca in the comments below suggested it might be an amphetamine-based metabolite of Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedimethoxymethamphetamine, MDMA) which is a better fit for the structure, but begs the question of why it’s appearing on Blacks jumpers and jackets…

I’m no organic chemist so I won’t embarrass myself by giving it a name. I do wonder, however, if anyone at Blacks noticed that this doesn’t look like the most stable form of this molecule, sterically-speaking… I guess it depends on the ring’s conformation too.

Personally I think it looks like a duck bending over to eat something.

I would tend to agree with the other posts regarding the molecule being a metabolite of MDMA

@Jon-as the drawing is 2d it does look as though it is a relatively sterically hindered molecule, however, if you consider the two carbon atoms along the sidearm attached directly to the benzene ring (see structure of HHMA)which are sp3 hybridised. They are free to rotate and would be arranged in a lower energy conformation in a 3d structure.

I’m fairly sure the molecule is noradrenaline without the stereochemistry. Might be a bit more tasteful for Black’s to put up a structure of the major ‘fight or flight’ neurotransmitter rather than an MDMA metabolite.

Just encountered this web page. As a retired polymer chemist I have also puzzled over the logo. An aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon seems a rather inactive compound in this context so, as others have done, let’s assume some heteroatoms – keep it simple and go for a 1,2-hydroxybenzene (catechol) derivative. The 4-alkyl catechols, such as this, have a bacteriocidal activity. Could it be an additive to keep the smell down when you perspire?

After being confused by the logo for about a year i finally decided to figure out it’s name. I took it as it was with no functional groups and came up with 1,2-dimethyl-4-(2-methylbutyl)cyclohexane as predicted by Chem Draw, but i agree that it has to be stylized if it was to contain any functional groups.

I thought I’d comment on this article after finding it while conducting research for a logo I’m designing. And should mention I’m a previous bio-analytical chemist, now graphic and digital designer, take a look at my website for more, or google “Creatifik”.

Anyway, I jumped on this article to comment so as to save you guys time, albeit maybe to late by my reading of all the attempts to “chemically” understand the structure.

So let me enlighten you:

!! IT IS JUST A LOGO !!

To understand more I suggest conducting some much needed CPR to your right hemispheres by visiting a gallery with modern art while trying to not be so literal.

What Phillip wrote about maybe its just a techy looking graphic is correct, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.